Stan Laurel 20th Century Fox when did he get a contract wiht 20th century fox? In 1941, Laurel and Hardy signed a contract at 20th Century Fox What is something interesting that happened during this period? During the war years, their work became more standardised and less successful, though The Bullfighters and Jitterbugs did receive some praise. what films did they make during this period? The Bullfighters and Jitterbugs
how long was he with 20th century fox?
how long was Stan Laurel with 20th century fox?
In 1941, Laurel and Hardy signed a contract at 20th Century Fox to make ten films over five years. During the war years, their work became more standardised and less successful, though The Bullfighters and Jitterbugs did receive some praise.  In 1947, Laurel returned to England when he and Hardy went on a six-week tour of the United Kingdom, and the duo were mobbed wherever they went. Laurel's homecoming to Ulverston took place in May, and the duo were greeted by thousands of fans outside the Coronation Hall. The Evening Mail noted: "Oliver Hardy remarked to our reporter that Stan had talked about Ulverston for the past 22 years and he thought he had to see it." The tour included a Royal Command Performance for King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in London. The success of the tour led them to spend the next seven years touring the UK and Europe.  Around this time, Stan found out that he had diabetes, so he encouraged Ollie to find solo projects and he did, taking parts in John Wayne and Bing Crosby films.  In 1950, Laurel and Hardy were invited to France to make a feature film. The film was a disaster, a Franco-Italian co-production titled Atoll K. (The film was entitled Utopia in the US and Robinson Crusoeland in the UK.) Both stars were noticeably ill during the filming. Upon returning to the United States, they spent most of their time recovering. In 1952, Laurel and Hardy toured Europe successfully, and they returned in 1953 for another tour of the continent. During this tour, Laurel fell ill and was unable to perform for several weeks.  In May 1954, Hardy had a heart attack and cancelled the tour. In 1955, they were planning to do a television series called Laurel and Hardy's Fabulous Fables based on children's stories. The plans were delayed after Laurel suffered a stroke on 25 April 1955, from which he recovered. But as the team was planning to get back to work, his partner Hardy had a massive stroke on 14 September 1956, which resulted in his being unable to return to acting. CANNOTANSWER
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Stan Laurel (born Arthur Stanley Jefferson; 16 June 1890 – 23 February 1965) was an English comic actor, writer, and film director who was part of the comedy duo Laurel and Hardy. He appeared with his comedy partner Oliver Hardy in 107 short films, feature films, and cameo roles.

Laurel began his career in music hall, where he developed a number of his standard comic devices, including the bowler hat, the deep comic gravity, and the nonsensical understatement. His performances polished his skills at pantomime and music hall sketches. He was a member of "Fred Karno's Army", where he was Charlie Chaplin's understudy. He and Chaplin arrived in the United States on the same ship from the United Kingdom with the Karno troupe. Laurel began his film career in 1917 and made his final appearance in 1951. He appeared with his comic partner Oliver Hardy in the film short The Lucky Dog in 1921, although they did not become an official team until late 1927. He then appeared exclusively with Hardy until retiring following his comedy partner's death in 1957.

In April 1961, on the 33rd Academy Awards, Laurel was given an Academy Honorary Award for his pioneering work in comedy, and he has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7021 Hollywood Boulevard. Laurel and Hardy were ranked top among best double acts and seventh overall in a 2005 UK poll to find the Comedians' Comedian. In 2019, Laurel topped a list of the greatest British comedians compiled by a panel on the television channel Gold. In 2009, a bronze statue of the duo was unveiled in Laurel's home town of Ulverston.

Early life

Arthur Stanley Jefferson was born in his grandparents' house on 16 June 1890 in Argyle Street, Ulverston, Lancashire, to Arthur J. Jefferson, an actor and theatre manager from Bishop Auckland, and Margaret (née Metcalfe), an actress from Ulverston. He was one of five children. One of them was Edward, an actor who would appear in four of Stan's shorts.

His parents were both active in the theatre and always very busy. In his early years, Laurel spent much time living with his maternal grandmother, Sarah Metcalfe. He attended school at King James I Grammar School in Bishop Auckland, County Durham, and the King's School in Tynemouth, Northumberland.

He moved with his parents to Glasgow, Scotland, where he completed his education at Rutherglen Academy. His father managed Glasgow's Metropole Theatre, where Laurel began work. His boyhood hero was Dan Leno, one of the greatest English music hall comedians. With a natural affinity for the theatre, Laurel gave his first professional performance on stage at the Panopticon in Glasgow at the age of sixteen, where he polished his skills at pantomime and music hall sketches. It was the music hall from where he drew his standard comic devices, including his bowler hat and nonsensical understatement.

In 1912 Laurel worked together with Ted Desmond on tour in Netherlands and Belgium as a comedy double act known as the Barto Bros. Their act, which involved them dressing as Romans, finished when Laurel was offered a spot in an American touring troupe. After Laurel left England for America the pair maintained a life-long friendship, sending letters and photos that documented Laurel's rise from an unknown British comedy actor in 1913 to one of the biggest names in Hollywood in the 1950s. The correspondence, spanning around 50 years and including photos of them being reunited in the US, was put up for auction by Desmond's grandson Geoffrey Nolan in 2018.

He joined Fred Karno's troupe of actors in 1910 with the stage name of "Stan Jefferson"; the troupe also included a young Charlie Chaplin. The music hall nurtured him, and he acted as Chaplin's understudy for some time. Karno was a pioneer of slapstick, and in his biography Laurel stated, "Fred Karno didn't teach Charlie [Chaplin] and me all we know about comedy. He just taught us most of it". Chaplin and Laurel arrived in the United States on the same ship from Britain with the Karno troupe and toured the country. During the First World War, Laurel registered for military service in America on 5 June 1917, as required under the Selective Service Act. He was not called up; his registration card states his status as resident alien and his deafness as exemptions. 

The Karno troupe broke up in the spring of 1914. Stan joined with two other former Karno performers, Edgar Hurley and his wife Ethel (known as "Wren") to form "The Three Comiques". On the advice of booking agent Gordon Bostock, they called themselves "the Keystone Trio". Stan started to do his character as an imitation of Charlie Chaplin, and the Hurleys began to do their parts as silent comedians Chester Conklin and Mabel Normand. They played successfully from February through October 1915, until the Hurleys and Stan parted ways. Between 1916 and 1918, he teamed up with Alice Cooke and Baldwin Cooke, who became his lifelong friends, to form the Stan Jefferson Trio.

Amongst other performers, Laurel worked briefly alongside Oliver Hardy in the silent film short The Lucky Dog (1921), before the two were a team. It was around this time that Laurel met Mae Dahlberg. Around the same time, he adopted the stage name of Laurel at Dahlberg's suggestion that his stage name Stan Jefferson was unlucky, due to it having thirteen letters. The pair were performing together when Laurel was offered $75 a week to star in two-reel comedies. After making his first film Nuts in May, Universal offered him a contract. The contract was soon cancelled during a reorganisation at the studio. Among the films in which Dahlberg and Laurel appeared together was the 1922 parody Mud and Sand.

By 1924, Laurel had given up the stage for full-time film work, under contract with Joe Rock for 12 two-reel comedies. The contract had one unusual stipulation: that Dahlberg was not to appear in any of the films. Rock thought that her temperament was hindering Laurel's career. In 1925, she started interfering with Laurel's work, so Rock offered her a cash settlement and a one-way ticket back to her native Australia, which she accepted. The 12 two-reel comedies were Mandarin Mix-Up (1924), Detained (1924), Monsieur Don't Care (1924), West of Hot Dog (1924), Somewhere in Wrong (1925), Twins (1925), Pie-Eyed (1925), The Snow Hawk (1925), Navy Blue Days (1925), The Sleuth (1925), Dr. Pyckle and Mr. Pryde (1925) and Half a Man (1925).

Like his future mate, Hardy, Laurel was credited for directing or co-directing ten silent shorts (between 1925 and 1927). But, unlike Hardy, Laurel appeared in none of them. It was Hardy, however, who appeared in three of the shorts directed by Laurel, which are: Yes, Yes, Nanette! (1925), Wandering Papas (1926) and Madame Mystery (1926).

Laurel and Hardy

Laurel next signed with the Hal Roach studio, where he began directing films, including a 1926 production called Yes, Yes, Nanette (in which Oliver Hardy had a part under the name "Babe" Hardy). It had been his intention to work primarily as a writer and director.

The same year, Hardy, a member of the Hal Roach Studios Comedy All Star players, was injured in a kitchen mishap and hospitalised. Because he was unable to work on the scheduled film, Get 'Em Young, Laurel was asked to return to acting to fill in. Starting early in 1927, Laurel and Hardy began sharing the screen in several short films, including Duck Soup, Slipping Wives and With Love and Hisses. The two became friends and their comic chemistry soon became obvious. Roach Studios' supervising director Leo McCarey noticed the audience reaction to them and began teaming them, leading to the creation of the Laurel and Hardy series later that year.

Together, the two men began producing a huge body of short films, including The Battle of the Century, Should Married Men Go Home?, Two Tars, Be Big!, Big Business, and many others. Laurel and Hardy successfully made the transition to talking films with the short Unaccustomed As We Are in 1929. They also appeared in their first feature in one of the revue sequences of The Hollywood Revue of 1929, and the following year they appeared as the comic relief in the lavish all-colour (in Technicolor) musical feature The Rogue Song. Their first starring feature Pardon Us was released in 1931. They continued to make both features and shorts until 1935, including their 1932 three-reeler The Music Box, which won an Academy Award for Best Short Subject.

Trouble at Roach Studio
During the 1930s, Laurel was involved in a dispute with Hal Roach which resulted in the termination of his contract. Roach maintained separate contracts for Laurel and Hardy that expired at different times, so Hardy remained at the studio and was "teamed" with Harry Langdon for the 1939 film Zenobia. The studio discussed a series of films co-starring Hardy with Patsy Kelly to be called "The Hardy Family". But Laurel sued Roach over the contract dispute. Eventually, the case was dropped and Laurel returned to Roach. The first film that Laurel and Hardy made after Laurel returned was A Chump at Oxford. Subsequently, they made Saps at Sea, which was their last film for Roach.

Second World War

In 1941, Laurel and Hardy signed a contract at 20th Century-Fox to make ten films over five years. Laurel found, to his shock, that he and Hardy were hired only as actors, and were not expected to contribute to the staging, writing, or editing of the productions. When the films proved very successful, Laurel and Hardy were granted more freedom and gradually added more of their own material. They had made six Fox features when the studio suddenly abandoned B-picture production in December 1944. The team signed another contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1942, resulting in two more features.

Revisiting his music hall days, Laurel returned to England in 1947 when he and Hardy went on a six-week tour of the United Kingdom performing in variety shows. Mobbed wherever they went, Laurel's homecoming to Ulverston took place in May, and the duo were greeted by thousands of fans outside the Coronation Hall. The Evening Mail noted: "Oliver Hardy remarked to our reporter that Stan had talked about Ulverston for the past 22 years and he thought he had to see it." The tour included a Royal Variety Performance in front of King George VI and his consort Queen Elizabeth in London. The success of the tour led them to spend the next seven years touring the UK and Europe.

Around this time, Laurel found out that he had diabetes, so he encouraged Hardy to find solo projects, which he did, taking parts in John Wayne and Bing Crosby films.

In 1950, Laurel and Hardy were invited to France to make a feature film. The film was a disaster, a Franco-Italian co-production titled Atoll K. (The film was entitled Utopia in the US and Robinson Crusoeland in the UK.) Both stars were noticeably ill during the filming. Upon returning to the United States, they spent most of their time recovering. In 1952, Laurel and Hardy toured Europe successfully, and they returned in 1953 for another tour of the continent. During this tour, Laurel fell ill and was unable to perform for several weeks.

In May 1954, Hardy had a heart attack and cancelled the tour. In 1955, they were planning to do a television series called Laurel and Hardy's Fabulous Fables based on children's stories. The plans were delayed after Hardy suffered a stroke on 25 April 1955, from which he recovered. But as the team was planning to get back to work, Hardy had another stroke on 14 September 1956, and was unable to return to acting.

Hardy's death
Oliver Hardy died on 7 August 1957. People who knew Laurel said that he was absolutely devastated by Hardy's death and never fully recovered from it; his wife told the press that he became physically ill upon hearing that Hardy was dying. Laurel was in fact too ill to attend his funeral and said, "Babe would understand". Although he continued to socialize with his fans, he refused to perform on stage or act in another film from then on as he had no interest in working without Hardy, turning down every offer he was given for a public appearance.

After Laurel and Hardy
In 1961, Stan Laurel was given an Academy Honorary Award "for his creative pioneering in the field of cinema comedy". Laurel was introduced by Bob Hope, and the award was accepted by Danny Kaye. Laurel had achieved his lifelong dream as a comedian and had been involved in nearly 190 films. He lived his final years in a small flat in the Oceana Apartments in Santa Monica, California. Laurel was gracious to fans and spent much time answering fan mail. His phone number was also listed in the telephone directory and he would take calls from fans.

Jerry Lewis was among the comedians to visit Laurel, and Lewis received suggestions from him for the production of The Bellboy (1960). Lewis paid tribute to Laurel by naming his main character Stanley in the film, and having Bill Richmond play a version of Laurel as well. Dick Van Dyke told a similar story. When he was just starting his career, he looked up Laurel's phone number, called him, and then visited him at his home. Van Dyke played Laurel on "The Sam Pomerantz Scandals" episode of The Dick Van Dyke Show. Laurel was offered a cameo role in It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963), but declined. He reportedly said he
did not want to be on screen in his old age, especially without Hardy. It appears, however, his involvement reached the stage of filming a background matching shot of his old time convertible, with a stand-in seated, at the wheel, donning a derby hat. The cameo appearance was then given to Jack Benny, who wore Laurel's signature derby in the scene.

Personal life

Laurel and Mae Dahlberg never married but lived together as common-law husband and wife from 1919 to 1925, before Dahlberg accepted a one-way ticket from Joe Rock to go back to her native Australia. In November 1937, Dahlberg was back in the US and suing Laurel for financial support. At the time, Laurel's second marriage was in the process of a divorce, with Dahlberg's legal suit adding to Laurel's woes. The matter was settled out of court. Dahlberg was described as a "relief project worker" by the court. Laurel was one of several popular British actors in Hollywood who never became a naturalised US citizen.

Laurel had four wives and married one of them a second time after their divorce. His first wife was Lois Neilson, whom he married on 13 August 1926. Together they had a daughter, Lois, who was born on . Their second child, Stanley, was born two months premature in May 1930, but died after nine days. Laurel and Neilson divorced in December 1934. Their daughter Lois died on  aged 89.
 
In 1935, Laurel married Virginia Ruth Rogers (known as Ruth). In 1937, he filed for divorce, confessing that he was not over his ex-wife Lois, but Lois decided against a reconciliation. On New Year's Day 1938, Laurel married Vera Ivanova Shuvalova (known as Illeana), and Ruth accused him of bigamy, but their divorce had been finalised a couple of days before his new marriage. The new marriage was very volatile, and Illeana accused him of trying to bury her alive in the back yard of their San Fernando Valley home. He and Illeana separated in 1939 and divorced in 1940, with Illeana surrendering all claim to the Laurel surname on 1 February 1940 in exchange for $6,500. In 1941, Laurel remarried Virginia Ruth Rogers; they were divorced for the second time in early 1946. On 6 May 1946, he married Ida Kitaeva Raphael to whom he remained married until his death.

Death

Laurel was a smoker until suddenly quitting around 1960. In January 1965, he underwent a series of x-rays for an infection on the roof of his mouth. He died on 23 February 1965, aged 74, four days after suffering a heart attack. Minutes before his death, he told his nurse that he would not mind going skiing, and she replied that she was not aware that he was a skier. "I'm not," said Laurel, "I'd rather be doing that than this!" A few minutes later he died quietly in his armchair.

At his funeral service at Church of the Hills, Buster Keaton said, "Chaplin wasn't the funniest. I wasn't the funniest; this man was the funniest." Dick Van Dyke gave the eulogy as a friend, protégé, and occasional impressionist of Laurel during his later years; he read The Clown's Prayer. Laurel had quipped, "If anyone at my funeral has a long face, I'll never speak to him again." He was interred in Forest Lawn–Hollywood Hills Cemetery.

Legacy and honours

Laurel and Hardy are featured on the cover of the Beatles' 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. In 1989, a statue of Laurel was erected in Dockwray Square, North Shields, Tyne and Wear, England, where he lived at No. 8 from 1897 to 1902. The steps down from the Square to the North Shields Fish Quay were said to have inspired the piano-moving scene in The Music Box. In a 2005 UK poll, Comedians' Comedian, Laurel and Hardy were ranked top double act, and seventh overall. Along with Hardy, Laurel was inducted into the Grand Order of Water Rats.

Neil Brand wrote a radio play entitled Stan, broadcast in 2004 on BBC Radio 4 and subsequently on BBC Radio 4 Extra, starring Tom Courtenay as Stan Laurel, in which Stan visits Oliver Hardy after Hardy has suffered his stroke and tries to say the things to his dying friend and partner that have been left unsaid. In 2006, BBC Four showed a drama called Stan, based on Brand's radio play, in which Laurel meets Hardy on his deathbed and reminisces about their career.

A plaque on the Bull Inn, Bottesford, Leicestershire, England, marks Laurel and Hardy appearing in Nottingham over Christmas 1952, and staying with Laurel's sister, Olga, who was the landlady of the pub. In 2008, a statue of Stan Laurel was unveiled in Bishop Auckland, County Durham, on the site of the Eden Theatre. In April 2009, a bronze statue of Laurel and Hardy was unveiled in Ulverston.

There is a Laurel and Hardy Museum in Stan's hometown of Ulverston. There are two Laurel and Hardy museums in Hardy's hometown of Harlem, Georgia. One is operated by the town of Harlem, and the other is a private museum owned and operated by Gary Russeth, a Harlem resident. Jefferson Drive in Ulverston is named after him.

In 2013 Gail Louw and Jeffrey Holland debuted a short one-man play "...And this is my friend Mr Laurel" at the Camden Fringe festival. The play, starring Holland as Laurel, was taken on tour of the UK in 2014 until June 2015.

In the 2018 film Stan & Ollie, Steve Coogan portrayed Laurel (a performance which saw him nominated for the BAFTA for Best Actor in a Leading Role) and John C. Reilly played Hardy. Developed by BBC Films, the film is set in the twilight of their careers, and focuses on their farewell tour of Britain and Ireland's variety halls in 1953.

In 2019 Laurel was voted the greatest ever British comedian by a panel on the British television channel Gold.

Filmography
 Stan Laurel filmography (films of Stan Laurel as an actor without Oliver Hardy)
 Laurel and Hardy filmography (filmography of Laurel and Hardy together)

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

 Bergen, Ronald. The Life and Times of Laurel and Hardy. New York: Smithmark, 1992. .
 Bowers, Judith. Stan Laurel and Other Stars of the Panopticon: The Story of the Britannia Music Hall. Edinburgh: Birlinn Ltd, 2007. .
 Louvish, Simon. Stan and Ollie: The Roots of Comedy. London: Faber & Faber, 2001. .
 Marriot, A. J. Laurel & Hardy: The British Tours. Hitchen, Herts, UK: AJ Marriot, 1993. .
 Levy, Joe, ed. Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. New York: Wenner Books, 2005. .
 McCabe, John. Babe: The Life of Oliver Hardy. London: Robson Books Ltd., 2004. .
 McCabe, John. Comedy World of Stan Laurel. London: Robson Books, 2005, First edition 1975. .
 McCabe, John. Mr. Laurel & Mr. Hardy: An Affectionate Biography. London: Robson Books, 2004, First edition 1961, .
 Stone, Rob. Laurel or Hardy: The Solo Films of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. Temecula, California: Split Reel Books, 1996
 Okuda, Ted, and James L. Neibaur. Stan Without Ollie: The Stan Laurel Solo Films. Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Co., 2012
 Guiles, Fred Lawrence. Stan: The Life of Stan Laurel. New York: Stein and Day., 1980

External links

 
 
 
 The Making of Stan Laurel: Echoes of a British Boyhood article at Brenton Film by Danny Lawrence, Stan Laurel's biographer
 The Stan Laurel Correspondence Archive Project

English male comedians

Comedians from Lancashire
British male comedy actors
English entertainers
English male film actors
English male silent film actors
English male stage actors
English stunt performers
Music hall performers
Silent film comedians
Vaudeville performers
1890 births
1965 deaths
Academy Honorary Award recipients
Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award
20th Century Fox contract players
Hal Roach Studios actors
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract players
English emigrants to the United States
British expatriate male actors in the United States
People educated at The King's School, Tynemouth
People educated at Stonelaw High School
People from Ulverston
Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills)
Articles containing video clips
19th-century English people
20th-century English male actors
20th-century English comedians
Hal Roach Studios short film series
People educated at Queen's Park Secondary School
Tony Destra (September 20, 1954 – February 8, 1987), was an American drummer who played for the glam metal bands Cinderella and Britny Fox.  Before Cinderella or Britny Fox, Tony was the drummer for another popular Philadelphia area band called Enforcer. The singer for Enforcer was Bill Mattson who would gain later recognition as the frontman for Tangier. Tony played on Cinderella's indy 45 of "Shake Me" and "Somebody Save Me". After he left Cinderella, he joined Britny Fox in 1985. He played on the Britny Fox demo In America in 1986. Tony died in a car accident on February 8, 1987.

In Cinderella, he was replaced by drummer Jim Drnec. In Britny Fox he was replaced by drummer Adam F Ferraioli who was then himself replaced by long-term drummer Johnny Dee.

Discography

With Cinderella
Demos

With Britny Fox
In America (demo) (1986)

References

1954 births
1987 deaths
Road incident deaths in Pennsylvania
American rock drummers
Glam metal musicians
Cinderella (band) members
Britny Fox members
20th-century American drummers
American male drummers
20th-century American male musicians 20th Television (formerly 20th Century Fox Television from 1985 to 1989 and again from 1994 to 2020; from 1958 to 1985, 20th Century-Fox Television and from 1949 to 1958, TCF Television Productions, Inc.) is an American television production company that is a subsidiary of Disney Television Studios, a division of Walt Disney Television, which is a part of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Company.

The first and original incarnation of 20th Television was the syndication and distribution arm of 20th Century Fox Television until it was folded into Disney–ABC Domestic Television on August 10, 2020.

The company was originally established as the television production unit of 20th Century Studios (previously 20th Century Fox) since 1949. The original copyright holder for 20th Television's library was under 20th Century Fox until December 2020. The studio is best known for being the original programming supplier of the Fox network, and being the television distributor for the 20th Century Studios' film library.

20th Television was part of The Walt Disney Company's acquisition of the majority of 21st Century Fox's assets. Disney's acquisition of 21st Century Fox was completed on March 20, 2019. The company's current name was adopted on August 10, 2020. On December 4, 2020, the company started using 20th Television, Inc. for the copyright of 20th Television and 20th Television Animation productions as a Disney subsidiary.

History

TCF Television Productions, Inc. (1949–1958) 
20th Century Fox Television was originally formed in 1949 by 20th Century-Fox as other studios were branching out into television production. The company was known as TCF Television Productions, Inc. from its inception until 1958. Its first TV series was Crusade in Europe, which was produced for ABC.

In 1955, Fox intended to set up a TV film subsidiary on the company's Western Avenue lot in Hollywood, but it never materialized.

Fox did not produce another TV show until 1955, when it launched its very first series, The 20th Century-Fox Hour on CBS, after the success of ABC's hit show Disneyland. In 1956, Fox sold its second show to CBS, My Friend Flicka, which is based on the Flicka film series.

Later that year, Irving Asher, who was a very successful film producer, was made general manager of TCF Television Productions. In 1956, Fox sold the Broken Arrow TV project, which is based on the 1950 film of the same name, to ABC.

In 1957, Fox cemented a pact with National Telefilm Associates (NTA) to produce How to Marry a Millionaire, which was based on the 1953 movie of the same name, and Man Without a Gun. NTA served as distributor of the series, which were to play on the NTA Film Network.

20th Century-Fox Television (1958–1985) 
In 1958, the company was renamed to 20th Century-Fox Television. Around the same time, Martin Manulis, producer of CBS' Playhouse 90, joined 20th Century-Fox as head of television. Under Manulis' watch, the company developed Adventures in Paradise for ABC, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis for CBS and Five Fingers for NBC. In the following year, Fox also sold the drama Hong Kong to ABC.

By 1960, Roy Huggins, who was lured from Warner Bros. Television, was tapped to join 20th Century-Fox Television as vice president in charge of production. During Huggins' watch, he is known for refreshing the Hong Kong show. He also oversaw the development of the three programs for ABC, which were the comedy Margie and dramas Follow the Sun and Bus Stop. In 1961, William Self was appointed to replace Huggins.

In 1962, the company decreased its output to one show, then produced no shows by 1963. Roy Huggins departed to join Revue Studios. During the short-lived dark period in 1963, the company had signed Hal Kanter and Paul Monash to production deals. Later that year, highly successful feature film producer Irwin Allen was moved from its feature film unit to its television unit to serve as producer for the studio.

The company had returned to producing prime-time programs by 1964. The first shows were the ABC sitcom Valentine's Day, the ABC dramas Peyton Place, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, and 12 O'Clock High; and the NBC drama Daniel Boone. Later that year, William Dozier and his Greenway Productions studio signed a deal with 20th Century-Fox to develop TV shows. By 1965, Fox was producing several new shows for primetime, such as The Legend of Jesse James, The Long, Hot Summer, The Loner and Irwin Allen's science-fiction drama Lost in Space, to be followed by Batman, which is based on the comic book series, and Blue Light.

The 1966–67 season was not a good year for Fox's TV unit, which was producing the ABC sitcom The Tammy Grimes Show and the ABC dramas The Man Who Never Was, The Felony Squad, The Green Hornet and Irwin Allen's science-fiction show The Time Tunnel. Although most of the new shows in the season did not last long, Felony Squad turned out to be a hit. The 1967–68 season was similarly poor for Fox, as it only had two new shows, Custer and Judd, for the Defense, both for ABC. Although Custer bombed, Judd, for the Defense was initially popular. It was cancelled after only two seasons. Fox also expanded its output to commission a Saturday morning show in collaboration with Filmation, Journey to the Center of the Earth.

The 1968–69 season was an even worse year for 20th Century-Fox Television, which saw the British co-production Journey to the Unknown and Irwin Allen's final science-fiction drama to be produced, Land of the Giants, for ABC; the CBS drama Lancer; and the NBC sitcoms The Ghost & Mrs. Muir and Julia. Although Julia was deemed a hit, most of the shows in the season crumbled. Fox did have one additional Saturday morning cartoon for Filmation, Fantastic Voyage. In 1969, Fox entered the game show fray by signing a deal to distribute Beat the Clock, a revival of the instantly popular 1950s game show. The decade closed out with the 1969-70 TV season and two new programs, Room 222 for ABC and Bracken's World for NBC. Also that year, Grant Tinker was hired to join the studio. Two years later, he quit due to conflicts with running MTM Enterprises.

The 1970s was not a good decade for Fox's TV unit. Though the studio started strong this decade with the shows Nanny and the Professor on ABC and Arnie for CBS, the studio did have one hit for the decade, M*A*S*H, and later on, in 1979, produced another hit, Trapper John, M.D., which was immediately popular in the 1980s. Other Fox shows for the 1970s, like the dramas Cade's County, Planet of the Apes, The New Perry Mason, Irwin Allen's The Swiss Family Robinson, Young Dan'l Boone, James at 15, W.E.B., The Paper Chase, Anna and the King, Roll Out, Karen, Loves Me, Loves Me Not, Husbands, Wives & Lovers and Billy all bombed, although The Paper Chase became a cult classic and gave Showtime additional seasons.

Fox also distributed the game show Masquerade Party, produced by Stefan Hatos-Monty Hall Productions, aired for the 1974–75 season. From 1976 to 1978, Fox distributed Liar's Club for two years, and also distributed Celebrity Sweepstakes, both of these were produced by Ralph Andrews Productions. In 1973, Fox is distributing the syndicated Canadian videotape production The Starlost, produced by Glen-Warren Productions.

In 1980, television producer Glen A. Larson quit Universal and joined 20th Century-Fox Television. The first show was The Fall Guy, which was a hit and the only Fox/Larson show to do so. The other Fox/Larson collaborations Trauma Center, Manimal, Automan, Masquerade, Cover Up and Half Nelson did not fare well due to poor ratings. By August 1980, other producers and agencies, like Clyde Phillips (Blue Hill Avenue Productions), former employee of Bob Banner Associates and Marc Merson (Brownstone Productions), former employee of Lorimar Productions had struck a deal with the studio.

Other series of the early 80s, like Hagen, Breaking Away, Ladies' Man, Jessica Novak, 9 to 5, It's Not Easy, Emerald Point N.A.S. and AfterMASH did not fare well in the ratings, although AfterMASH ended up being a minor hit, especially in its first season, and 9 to 5 going well in syndication after being a minor network hit in its original ABC run. In 1984, James L. Brooks and his Gracie Films company was moved to 20th Century-Fox for a film and TV partnership, creating a long relationship that lasted until the early 1990s when he moved to Sony.

20th Century Fox Television and the Metromedia buyout/Murdoch era (1985–1989) 
From 1985, the hyphen was permanently deleted from the brand name from both its movie and television counterparts, with 20th Century-Fox changing to 20th Century Fox. In 1985, after Steven Bochco left MTM and the Hill Street Blues program, he moved to 20th Century Fox Television to start the NBC crime drama L.A. Law and the ABC dramedy Hooperman, and marked the return of success for its television studio. During that same year, Fox returned to success with the sitcom Mr. Belvedere, which was an instantly popular hit. Also that same year, Fox has sold its sitcom Charlie & Co. to CBS, which tanked after only one season. The second new sitcom under the Murdoch regime was Fathers and Sons, which was sold to NBC, which also flopped after one season.

In 1986, Fox had purchased the assets of Metromedia, including its television stations and the distribution subsidiary, Metromedia Producers Corporation, who has currently distributing the series at that time, Small Wonder. Fox has also sold The Wizard to CBS, and Heart of the City to ABC for the 1986-1987 television season in addition to L.A. Law on NBC, which helped save the television industry of Fox. Fox also introduced the sitcom The Tracey Ullman Show, produced by Gracie Films for the Fox network, which introduced The Simpsons, that the success spawned a spinoff in 1989 that saved Fox's struggling television unit. Fox also distributed the sitcom The New Adventures of Beans Baxter, produced internally by Fox Square Productions.

For the 1987–88 season, Fox has sold the sitcom Second Chance to the then-new Fox television network, and sold the drama Leg Work to CBS, and the sitcom Pursuit of Happiness to ABC, in addition to Hooperman. In the mid-1980s, John Ritter and his Adam Productions company signed a contract with Fox to produce material. In addition of Hooperman, his Adam Productions company, in partnership with Fox is selling two sitcoms Anything But Love and Have Faith to ABC. From 1986 to 2019, 20th Century Fox Television (along with the two successors below) served as the Fox television network's official production arm (with Fox Television Studios being viewed as the network's unofficial television production division), producing the bulk of television series airing on the television network.

20th Television (production arm) (1989–1994) 
In 1989, 20th Century Fox Television's functions were taken over by Twentieth Television Corporation, a separate entity from 20th Century Fox. Both companies were subsidiaries of News Corporation unit Fox Inc.; the move was made to separate the television productions from the movie studio in order to increase the latter's output.

For the 1989–90 season, 20th Television was distributing programs from Steven Bochco Productions that were aired on ABC. The first to come out of the deal was Doogie Howser, M.D., which lasted four seasons on the air. Also introduced this season was to sell Alien Nation to the Fox network, and introduced Sister Kate to the NBC network, in addition to The Simpsons. In mid-1990, Twentieth Television had sold the sitcom Working Girl to the NBC television network. Twentieth Television also offered the variety series In Living Color to the Fox television network, which introduced the talent of stars like Keenan Ivory Wayans and David Alan Grier.

Also that same year, Kevin Wendle, vice president of the Fox Entertainment Group has quit to start Sleepy Hollow Productions struck a deal with Twentieth Television to produce projects that was made for the studio.

For the 1990-91 television season, 20th Television has sold Working It Out to NBC, and has also sold the sitcoms Babes, Good Grief and True Colors to the new Fox network. Twentieth Television also distributed the show Cop Rock, produced by Steven Bochco Productions for ABC via development deal this same season. Also at midseason, Twentieth Television had purchased The Sunday Comics to the Fox television network. Also, at the end of 1990, it is announced that Joseph F. Greene would leave the company to become an independent consultant to the company. At the same time, Keenan Ivory Wayans received an exclusive deal with the studio.

By the 1991–92 season, the Twentieth Television production company has sold the comedy Drexell's Class to the Fox television network, and distributed the Steven Bochco crime drama Civil Wars to the ABC television network. Twentieth Television also distributed the midseason cartoon Capitol Critters, a joint production of Hanna-Barbera and Steven Bochco, to the ABC television network in the spring of 1992, along with the Fox comedy Stand By Your Man, which is part of a contract between Twentieth Television and British producer WitzEnd Productions.

Also in 1991, David E. Kelley, who had produced two shows for Steven Bochco, L.A. Law and Doogie Howser, M.D., announced that he was quit to sign a joint agreement with CBS, who aired the networks, and Twentieth Television, who was distributing the programs. The first program to come out of the deal was the family dramedy Picket Fences, which premiered in the 1992–93 season. In 1992, Peter Roth, who had left Stephen J. Cannell's production company joined 20th Television, and instrumental in the development of the subsequent seasons.

In the 1992–93 season, Twentieth Television has sold the sitcom Rhythm & Blues to the NBC television network, but it failed to catch on in the ratings. This was followed by a joint production between British-based WitzEnd Productions, Twentieth Television and CBS Entertainment Productions, Dudley, which was a vehicle for Dudley Moore, which aired in the spring of 1993, but it also failed to catch on in the ratings. The company had also distributed the half-hour crime drama Likely Suspects for the Fox network, which was produced by Four Point Entertainment. In mid-1992, actor Chevy Chase received a deal with 20th Television to star in a late night comedy show, only to be tanked after only one season on the air.

By the 1993–94 season, Twentieth Television has sold The X-Files to the Fox television network, becoming the division's most profitable television show and the biggest ambitious television project, spawning 9 seasons, a revival series and a multimedia franchise. That same season, Twentieth Television is distributing a cop show and another high-profile project NYPD Blue to the ABC television network, produced by Steven Bochco Productions, which would go on to last for twelve seasons. Fox has also sold South Central, originally proposed by CBS, to the Fox television network for the spring of 1994. Also, for the spring of 1994, Fox is distributing the Steven Bochco-produced drama The Byrds of Paradise, which was aired on the ABC television network.

By the 1994–95 season, Chicago Hope, which happens to be the second show out of the Kelley/CBS/20th Television deal, was sold and went on to be a hit, lasting for 6 seasons on the air. The Twentieth Television production company also sold The 5 Mrs. Buchanans to CBS, and Wild Oats, to the Fox television network.

20th Century Fox Television and the New World era (1994–2019) 
Following a 1994 restructuring of Fox's television production companies, 20th Television was refocused on syndication and "non-traditional programs", while network television programming once more came under the 20th Century Fox Television banner and returned to being a division of the movie studio.

For the 1995–96 season, the new 20th Century Fox Television production company is selling the sitcoms The Crew and The Preston Episodes to the Fox television network, Cleghorne! to The WB television network, and the adventure series Space: Above and Beyond, to the Fox television network. It distributed the crime drama Murder One, produced by Steven Bochco Productions, which has just been sold to the ABC television network during the season. Also on October 17, 1995, Fox had signed long-term deals with comedy writers including Danny Jacobson, Chuck Lorre, Jeff Greenstein and Jeff Strauss, and Eric Gilliland to produce television series, and in June, signed a contract with Vic Rauseo and Linda Morris.

On December 4, 1995, David E. Kelley, who produces existing TV shows such as Picket Fences and Chicago Hope, had reached a 5-year agreement with the studio, with the ability to produce television series, the first and third to be on the ABC television network and the second and fourth to be on the Fox television network, and so on. The first two projects to come out of the deal were ABC's The Practice and Fox's Ally McBeal. In 1996, Peter Roth was transferred to becoming president of Fox Entertainment. Chris Carter, writer/producer of The X-Files also extended its contract with 20th Century Fox Television. The first project to come out of the new contract was the science-fiction fantasy drama Millennium. In the summer of 1996, Fox and the production company bought out L.A. Firefighters for a summer run on the Fox television network.

In 1996, New World Communications was bought out by Fox, which included its television stations, New World/Genesis Distribution and New World Entertainment. The deal ended up being finalized on January 22, 1997, and took the program Access Hollywood there. Shortly afterwards, Cannell bought back his library of rights from Fox in 1998. Also that same year, Steven Levitan, producers of Just Shoot Me! had signed a contract with 20th Century Fox Television. Also that same year, Fox had struck a deal with More-Medavoy Productions to produce television series.

Later on, in 1997, MTM Enterprises became part of 20th Century Fox Television, and thus remains an in-name only division of TCFTV as part of its purchase of International Family Entertainment, MTM's parent company. MTM at that time is currently producing three shows The Pretender for NBC, and Good News and Sparks for UPN, at primetime, after layoffs hit at MTM's syndicated unit. Later that year, Fox established another television production company, Fox Television Studios to house smaller production units, under executive David Grant. Also, producer Barbara Hall inked an overall deal with the studio.

In 1998, actor Luke Perry received a development deal with the studio. Also, Davis Entertainment, who had a contract with the studio struck a deal with Fox to produce TV shows. Also in 1998, the film studio Jersey Films, owned by Danny DeVito had launched a television unit with a deal at 20th Century Fox Television. Later that year, Seth MacFarlane, creator of the then-upcoming Family Guy series has an overall deal with the studio. In 2000, Fox and Imagine Entertainment struck an overall deal to produce television shows after a contract with Disney has been expired. Also that year, producers Nicole Yorkin and Dawn Prestwich inked a deal with the studio. In 2002, Original Television, a unit of Neal H. Moritz and Marty Adelstein's Original management company received a Fox overall deal to produce television series. In 2003, 3 Arts Entertainment, a talent/agency company had received an overall deal with 20th Century Fox.

In 2005, The Shield writer/producer Shawn Ryan and his MiddKid Productions company inked a three-year pact with the company. In 2006, TCFTV produced the first two series that aired on Fox's sister network, MyNetworkTV: the telenovelas Desire and Fashion House. In 2007, Nip/Tuck writer/producer Ryan Murphy received an overall deal with the studio. During the 2007-08 Writers Guild of America strike, Fox had terminated overall deals with various writers/producers. In 2009, Peter Chernin left Fox to set up Chernin Entertainment with a film and television deal at 20th Century Fox. In 2010, David Graziano, who was writer of the show In Plain Sight had struck a deal with 20th Century Fox Television to develop various television projects. In 2011, Mike Royce, successful TV producer had inked a rich deal with the company to produce TV shows.

In 2012, 20th Century Fox Television was reorganized as a separate unit of News Corporation; 20th Century Fox Television chairs Dana Walden and Gary Newman reported to Chase Carey, COO of 21st Century Fox. In 2013, Lord Miller Productions, a company owned by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller had inked a deal with the company to produce television shows.

In July 2014, it was announced that the operations of the Fox Broadcasting Company and 20th Century Fox Television would merge into a new unit, the Fox Television Group, which was overseen by Walden and Newman. In early 2015, Mythology Entertainment signed a first look deal with the company and fellow company Fox 21 Television Studios while announcing its TV division head.

Under Disney Television Studios
In March 2019, 20th Century Fox Television, 20th Television and Fox Television Animation were acquired by the Walt Disney Company and integrated into Walt Disney Television as part of Disney Television Studios, after which the president Greg Meidel was laid off. As a result, Newman departed and Walden was made head of Disney programming. Jonnie Davis and Howard Kurtzman, who previously held high ranking positions with the Fox Television Group, became the co-heads of 20th Century Fox Television. In July 2019, Disney promoted Davis to the position of President of ABC Studios. Carolyn Cassidy succeeded Davis as President of Creative Affairs at 20th Century Fox Television, running the studio jointly with Kurtzman. In January 2020, Kurtzman announced that he would retire by June 2020. CBS Television Studios executive Dan Kupetz has been named the new executive vice president of business affairs and operations and will be joining 20th TV in March 2020. He is reporting to Cassidy, who assumes solo leadership and work closely with Kurtzman until he departs.

The company signed in 2019 a four-year overall deal with Liz Meriwether, co-creator of Bless This Mess. This was followed by a production deal with Lake Bell Productions in February 2020.

On January 17, 2020, it was announced that the "Fox" name would be dropped from several of the Fox assets acquired by Disney. However, the renaming of 20th Century Fox Television, 20th Television, and Fox 21 Television Studios, as well as Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (became 20th Century Studios Home Entertainment) and Fox Networks Group International, was not made clear.

On August 10, 2020, 20th Century Fox Television and 20th Television were merged into one unit as part of a restructuring plan by Disney regarding their television production units, the merged entity took the former's name to avoid branding confusion of then-current formed, Fox Corporation. On December 1, 2020, Disney announced that the Touchstone Television label was folded into 20th Television.

An new deal with Lee Daniels was revealed in May 2021. It is also announced in November 2021 that British writers Jed Mercurio and Jimmy Mulville through HTM Television received a first look deal with 20th Television. Linda Yvette Chavez, who was showrunner on Gentefied, had inked an overall deal with 20th Television, also in November 2021.

Predecessors

20th Television (distribution arm)

The original incarnation of 20th Television was the name of the television distribution arm of 20th Century Fox Television and the 20th Century Fox movie studio. It was formed in 1989 in order to separate television production from the 20th Century Fox division which oversaw film production. During this time, 20th Television and 20th Century Fox served as two of Fox's four main units, along with the Fox Broadcasting Company and Fox Television Stations. Following a 1994 restructuring of Fox's television production companies, 20th Television was refocused on syndication and "non-traditional programs"; its network television division was moved back to 20th Century Fox and retook the 20th Century Fox Television name.

20th Television distributes almost all programming and documentaries from the television production unit and its subsidiaries and the motion picture studio's output (and their own subdivisions). It owns programming from other production companies and studios they have acquired, including MTM Enterprises, most by Metromedia Producers Corporation, and most by New World Entertainment (including those by Four Star Television and Genesis Entertainment).

The company also syndicates and/or co-syndicates product from partners such as Regency Television and Debmar-Mercury (until April 2019). The Lincolnwood Drive subsidiary of 20th Television has been used to produce the syndicated court series Divorce Court since the 2014–15 season, mainly for tax reasons.

In 1992, Greg Meidel became president of 20th Television, serving until 1995. Meidel was president of MyNetworkTV when he add 20th Television's same position to his responsibility in 2009.

As part of the restructuring that stemmed from News Corporation spinning off its entertainment assets into 21st Century Fox, it was announced on July 8, 2013, that 20th Television will operate under the management of 20th Century Fox Television; it was previously under Fox Television Stations. As a result, the former company's president reported to the latter's chairmen.

On August 10, 2020, 20th Television as a syndication and distribution arm and first incarnation, was merged into Disney–ABC Domestic Television.

Touchstone Television

The second incarnation of Touchstone Television (formerly known as Fox 21 Television Studios) was an American television production company that is a subsidiary of Disney Television Studios, a division of Walt Disney Television, which is owned by The Walt Disney Company. It was founded in 2014 from the merger of Fox Television Studios and Fox 21, and given its second name in mid-2020 following the acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney.

On December 1, 2020, Disney announced that the label was folded into 20th Television.

20th Century Fox Television Distribution

20th Century Fox Television Distribution was a television distribution arm of 20th Century Fox Television for all Fox-produced and/or acquired programming, operated from 2011 until its closure in January 2020 due to Disney's decision to drop the "Fox" name from the acquired assets to avoid brand confusion with the Fox Corporation as part of the merger requirement.

Blair Entertainment

Blair Entertainment (formerly Rhodes Productions) was a television production/distribution company founded by Jack E. Rhodes, operated from 1970 until 1992, a year before New World Communications' acquisition and folding of SCI Television in 1993.

Rhodes Productions was originally formed in 1970 by Jack E. Rhodes as a subsidiary of Taft Broadcasting Company in New York City, to distribute Hanna-Barbera cartoons. In 1971, Rhodes expanded by distributing the syndicated version of the game show Hollywood Squares. Also at the same time, the company's headquarters was moved from New York City to Los Angeles.

In 1975, the original Rhodes Productions was renamed by Taft to Taft H-B Program Sales, and Jack E. Rhodes has moved to Filmways to serve as chief of the domestic syndication arm launch Rhodes Production Company. Rhodes took the nighttime Hollywood Squares with them, and also launched the nighttime version of the game show High Rollers. Under the Filmways regime, Rhodes Productions also launched the soap opera spoof for late night viewing, Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, which is produced by Norman Lear and his T.A.T. Communications Company in 1976. In 1977, Rhodes Productions debuted its breakout property Second City Television (SCTV), which was originated in Canada.

In 1978, Rhodes Productions was split off from Filmways, and began operating as an independent production company and syndicator. Rhodes opted to keep Second City Television and Disco Break, while Filmways was forming the new syndication company Filmways Enterprises. In 1980, Rhodes purchased the syndication rights of Let's Make a Deal, the 1980 revival that was originated in Canada. This was followed up in 1981 by another acquisition of a Canadian game show Pitfall.

John Blair & Company through Blair Television acquired Rhodes Productions in 1983, and renamed it into Blair Entertainment. Blair had retained distribution rights of several shows like The Cisco Kid and SCTV, as well as a revival of Divorce Court. In 1985, Blair Entertainment had introduced the new game show Break the Bank in partnership with broadcasting groups Storer Communications and Hubbard Broadcasting. This was followed in 1986 by another game show property Strike It Rich. In 1986, they also expanded their production activities with launches of several TV series.

Divorce Court has been highly profitable, among other hit syndicated series in Blair's lineup. In 1990, Blair Entertainment, in collaboration with RHI Entertainment and advertising sales agent Action Media Group is launching a new drama Dracula. It also signed a new reality program Detectives in White to cable. In 1991, Blair Entertainment debuted a new program in collaboration with GRB Entertainment and All American Television, Stuntmasters. In 1992, Blair Entertainment has shut down its operations.

Productions

Notable shows produced by 20th Television include Batman, M*A*S*H, The Simpsons, L.A. Law, Glee, How I Met Your Mother, Bones, Bob's Burgers, Empire, Family Guy, 24, Modern Family, This Is Us, American Dad!, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, New Girl, American Horror Story, The X-Files, Reba, In Living Color, The Bernie Mac Show, King of the Hill, Futurama, Malcolm in the Middle, The Cleveland Show, Ally McBeal, Love, Victor, and Last Man Standing.

See also
 Walt Disney Television
 20th Television Animation
 ABC Signature
 Touchstone Television
 FX Productions
 Disney Platform Distribution
 Disney–ABC Domestic Television
 Fox Entertainment
 Bento Box Entertainment
 MarVista Entertainment

References

External links
 

20th Television
20th Century Studios
1949 establishments in California
Disney production studios
Disney acquisitions
Companies based in Los Angeles
Entertainment companies based in California
Entertainment companies established in 1949
Mass media companies established in 1949
Peabody Award winners
Television production companies of the United States
Former News Corporation subsidiaries
Disney Television Studios